Game apparatus and communication game system

ABSTRACT

Replay data for replaying the process during which a player played a game is downloaded via a network, and the player can actually play the game while playing back the replay data. No real-time play process information is exchanged, but the game result data of the player and the replay data for replaying the game process can be communicated at the end of the game, and these data are stored in the terminal game machine. At the time of the game, any player plays the game while playing back the replay data.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a game apparatus and communication gamesystem which download game replay data by non-real-time communicationsand use the downloaded data for games.

BACKGROUND ART

Some arcade game machines installed in so-called game centers (to besimply referred to as locations hereinafter) can communicate with othergame machines to perform communication games that users can play. Thecurrent communication games are limited to battle games using localcommunications between a plurality of game machines installed in alocation. These games progress when a plurality of players simultaneousplay games or cooperate with each other in real time. In this case,since the game machines are installed within a single location, they canbe connected via high-speed data communications.

Network games based on communications via the Internet are known on PCs(Personal Computers). Demand has arisen for middle- or large-size gamessuitable for broad networks.

The following game is available for home game machines. Game results aretransmitted to a host computer using non-real-time communications, andthe host computer totalizes the game results. The home game machinesreceive the totalization results to compete in the game results.

When a game in the above-described form (real time type), which allowsplayers to simultaneously play, is directly applied to game machinesconnected to a network such as a broad network capable of performingonly relatively low-speed data communications, the problems in latency(communication delay), difference in time, communication quality, andthe like occur. This game is not suitable for business in a location.

The above problems will be described below. First of all, the problem oflatency (communication delay) will be described. Latency (communicationdelay) occurs due to a communication distance and signal passage via arelay device. Wire, radio, and optical communications are available.Even if one of them is employed, latency corresponding to a distanceoccurs, provided that the distance increases. The progress of areal-time game is interfered with the influence of this communicationdelay. Players may not often play this game in practice.

The problem of the difference in time will be described. Assume thatlocations open for the business hours from 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnightare located in Japan, London, New York, and Los Angeles. These locationsrarely have the overlapping zones (simultaneously) of the businesshours. The time zones when customers get together in the locationsrarely overlap. Players at the home game machines and PCs (PersonalComputers) can join a game any convenient time (even midnight or earlymorning). It is difficult to realize a worldwide communication game inthe form of simultaneous participation in a location in the businessform of a shop.

The problem of communication quality will be described. In broadcommunications, plays using the Internet on PCs are very popular, butcommunication quality is not guaranteed. Communications may beinterrupted during the play in which players simultaneously join. Inthis case, this game no longer plays a role as a game. Players at PCsplay an Internet game for personal pleasure and give up playing thisgame even if the communications are interrupted due to troubles inproviders and communication rotues. When communications are interruptedin the arcade game machines installed in a location, and the customerscannot continue the game, troubles may occur between the customers andlocation.

In a game with which the players at the home game machines compete witheach other in game results using non-real-time communications, eachplayer intentionally connects the game machine to a predetermined hostmachine at the end of the game to upload the game result and downloadsthe totalization result. There is no conventional system for making thehome game machine automatically transmit a game result when the gameresult is updated and automatically transmitting the updatedtotalization result to the home game machine. The upload contents arelimited to only the game result (e.g., a score), and no game process canbe transmitted.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems inthe above-mentioned prior arts, and has as its object to provide a gameapparatus and communication game system capable of allowing acommunication game as if players at remote game machines were playingthe game without posing the problems of latency (communication delay),difference in time, communication quality, and the like occurring in areal-time communication game.

In order to achieve the above object, a game apparatus according toclaim 1 is characterized by comprising means for downloading, via anetwork, replay data for replaying a play process of a game of a playerand game execution playback means for playing back the downloaded replaydata and at the same time executing a game play by the player.

The invention of claim 2 is a communication game system having aplurality of terminal game machines connected to a network and a hostcomputer, characterized in that each of the plurality of terminal gamemachines comprises storage means for obtaining and storing replay datafor replaying a process of a game play when each player plays a game ata corresponding one of the terminal game machines, transmission meansfor automatically transmitting the replay data stored in the storagemeans to the host computer, reception means for receiving the replaydata automatically transmitted from the host computer, storage means forstoring the received replay data, and game execution playback means forplaying back the received replay data stored in the storage means andexecuting the game play by the player, and the host computer comprisesstorage means for storing the replay data transmitted from each of theplurality of terminal game machines and transmission means forautomatically transmitting the replay data stored in the storage meansto each of the plurality of terminal game machines.

The invention according to claim 3 is a communication game system havinga plurality of terminal game machines connected to a network and a hostcomputer, characterized in that each of the plurality of terminal gamemachines comprises storage means for obtaining and storing result dataand replay data for replaying a process of a game play when each playerplays a game at a corresponding one of the terminal game machines,transmission means for automatically transmitting the result data andreplay data stored in the storage means to the host computer, receptionmeans for receiving totalization data automatically transmitted from thehost computer, storage means for storing the received totalization data,and game execution playback means for reading out and playing back thereplay data from the received totalization data stored in the storagemeans and at the same time executing the game play by the player, andthe host computer comprises totalization means for totalizing, on thebasis of the result data, the result data and replay data transmittedfrom each of the plurality of terminal game machines, and generatingtotalization data containing the result data and replay data, storagemeans for storing the generated totalization data, and transmissionmeans for automatically transmitting the totalization data stored in thestorage means to each of the plurality of terminal game machines.

The invention according to claim 4 is the communication game system inclaim 2 or 3, characterized in that the terminal game machine has aninterface connecting detachable storage means to allow data readout, thegame execution playback means of the terminal game machine reads outplayer character information serving as information associated with agame character and stored in the detachable storage means and reflectsthe readout player character information on the game, and thetransmission means of the terminal game machine makes data transmittedto the host computer contain the player character information, andtransmits the resultant data.

The invention according to claim 5 is the communication game system inclaim 4, characterized in that the player character information storedin the detachable storage means is created and stored by a game machinenot connected to the network but having an interface connecting thedetachable storage means and reading/writing data. More specifically,the following form can be employed. A memory card used in a home gamemachine is used, and player character information created by the homegame machine is saved in the memory card. This memory card is carried tothe location where a arcade game machine according to the presentinvention is installed. The memory card is then set in the arcade gamemachine, and the player character information is read out from thememory card and reflected on the game.

The invention according to claim 6 is the communication game system inclaim 2 or 3, characterized in that the terminal game machine comprisesimage sensing means for obtaining image data obtained by sensing animage of a game player who plays the game, the transmission means of theterminal game machine makes data transmitted to the host computercontain the image data and transmits the resultant data, thetransmission means of the host computer makes data transmitted to theplurality of terminal game machines contain the image data and transmitsthe resultant data, and the game execution playback means of theterminal game machine displays the image data corresponding to thereplay data in playing back the replay data.

The host computer of the present invention may be a computer independentof the terminal game machine or may have a form in which the function ofthe host computer of the present invention is provided in any terminalgame machine. The communication between the host computer and eachterminal game machine is automatically performed at an arbitrary timingindependently of execution processing of the game in the terminal gamemachine. This communication is performed without influencing theexecution of the game (i.e., without loading a CPU). For example,communication is performed in the background of the game processing at alow communication rate or in a non-business time zone at night.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of a communicationgame system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a terminal gamemachine;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a home gamemachine;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a host computer;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart (No. 1) showing the processing sequence of theterminal game machine:

FIG. 6 is a flow chart (No. 2) showing the processing sequence of theterminal game machine;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a sequence showing the types of data exchangedbetween a host computer and the terminal game machine in time updating;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a sequence in which totalization data obtainedin the host computer is distributed to the terminal game machine andreceived by it;

FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of player ID information andcharacter information saved in a memory card;

FIG. 10 is a view showing the display window of a game played whilereplay data of three higher-ranking players are being played back; and

FIG. 11 is a view showing a game ranking display example.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the schematic arrangement of a communication game systemaccording to the present invention. Terminal game machines 111 to 114are connected to a host computer 101. The terminal game machines 111 to114 are connected to the host computer 101, respectively, via singlelines 121 to 124 in FIG. 1. However, any connection form such as directconnection using I/O ports, connection via a small network such as a LAN(Local Area Network), or connection via a broad network such as theInternet may be employed. Since the present invention is suitable forgame machines connected via a broad network such as the Internet, thefollowing description assumes that the host computer 101 is connected tothe terminal game machines 111 to 114 via the broad network. Connectiondevices and computers for interfacing communications may be arranged inthe layers between the host computer 101 and terminal game machines 111to 114.

The terminal game machines 111 to 114 are arcade game machinesdistributed in areas having differences in time such as Japan, London,New York, and Los Angeles. Game players play games at the correspondingterminal game machines. In particular, the terminal game machine 114 hasthe memory card read/write function of reading via a memory card 132character information created by a home game machine 131 and allowingreflecting the read character information on the game at the terminalgame machine 114. Note that the four terminal game machines areconnected to the host computer 101, but an arbitrary number of terminalgam machines may be connected to the host computer 101. Thepresence/absence of the read/write function of the memory card 132 of aterminal game machine to be connected is arbitrarily determined. Thefunctions and processing of the host computer 101 and each terminal gamemachine will be described below, and the function of the host computermay be provided in any terminal game machine.

FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of each of the terminal game machines 111to 114. Each terminal game machine comprises a central processing unit(CPU) 201, random access memory (RAM) 202, read-only memory (ROM) 203,external memory device 204, real-time clock 205, image generator 206,display device 207, audio synthesizer 208, audio output device 209,input converter 210, input device 211, communication interface (I/F)212, memory card I/F 213, video signal capturing circuit 215, and CCDcamera 216. The CPU 201, RAM 202, ROM 203, external memory device 204,real-time clock 205, image generator 206, audio synthesizer 208, inputconverter 210, communication I/F 212, memory card I/F 213, and videosignal capturing circuit 215 are connected to a system bus 217. Theterminal game machine 114 having the memory card read/write functionshown in FIG. 1 has a memory card I/F 213. The remaining terminal gamemachines 111 to 113 have no memory card I/Fs 213, but FIG. 2 shows anarrangement having the memory card I/F 213. The following descriptionconcerning the operation of the terminal game machine is based on theterminal game machine having the memory card I/F 213. The operation ofthe terminal game machine having no memory card I/F 213 will bedescribed excluding the part concerning the explanation of the memorycard from the operation of the terminal game machine having the memorycard I/F 213.

The CPU 201 controls the overall operation of this terminal gamemachine. The RAM 202 serves as a programmable memory used as a work areain operating the CPU 201. The ROM 203 is comprised of a read-only memorywhich stores various control programs (BIOS: Basic Input/Output System)executed by the CPU 201. The external memory device 204 is comprised ofa memory device for storing game programs and various other data. A harddisk or CD-ROM is exemplified as the external memory device 204, butsuch a memory device must be at least partially read- or write-accessed.The real-time clock 205 is comprised of a clock for determining thecurrent time and date or counting an arbitrary time interval.

The image generator 206 generates various images on the basis of aninstruction from the CPU 201 and displays them on the display device207. The audio synthesizer 208 outputs various audio data (includingsound effects and background music) to the audio output device 209 onthe basis of an instruction from the CPU 201. The input converter 210obtains operation information from the input device 211 operated by theplayer, converts the operation information into digital data, andoutputs the digital data to the CPU 201. The CPU 201 detects theoperation information representing the operation of the operation device211 by the player. The communication I/F 212 is comprised of aninterface circuit for communicating with an external device, and moreparticularly the host computer 101. The memory card I/F 213 is comprisedof an interface circuit for reading out data from the detachable memorycard 132 or writing the data in it in accordance with an instructionfrom the CPU 201. The video signal capture circuit 215 captures a videosignal sensed by the CCD camera 216, converts the video signal intodigital data, and outputs it to the CPU 201. Although the variouscommunication I/Fs 212 and 213 are connected to the bus line 217, asillustrated in FIG. 2, the communication I/Fs can have arbitrary formsand schemes. For example, an interface (e.g., a Universal Serial Bus)for connecting external devices in a daizy chain may be employed.

In the terminal game machine having the arrangement shown in FIG. 2, theCPU 201 loads the game program and necessary data from the externalmemory device 204 to the RAM 202 to allow the player to play the game.The game window is displayed on the display device 207, and varioussounds are output from the audio output device 209. The game playerenters various inputs to the game using the input device 211. The CCDcamera 216 senses the image near the face of the player during the play,and this image data is captured as an image representing the facialexpression of the player during the game.

FIG. 3 shows an arrangement of the home game machine 131 in FIG. 1. Thehome game machine 131 comprises a CPU 301, RAM 302, ROM 303, externalmemory device 304, image generator 306, display device 307, audiosynthesizer 308, audio output device 309, input converter 310, inputdevice 311, memory card I/F 313, and system bus 317.

These components have the same functions as those shown in FIG. 2. Theterminal game machine shown in FIG. 2 is a arcade game machine, whilethe game machine shown in FIG. 3 is for home use. These game machineshave different CPU processing capacities and memory capacities, but haveidentical basic operations. More specifically, even the game machine inFIG. 3 can load the game program and necessary data to the RAM 302 andallows the player to play the game. The game window is displayed on thedisplay device 307, and various sounds are output from the audio outputdevice 309. The game player enters various operation inputs to the gamefrom the input device 311.

FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of the host computer 101 in FIG. 1. Thehost computer 101 comprises a CPU 401, RAM 402, ROM 403, external memorydevice 404, real-time clock 405, image generator 406, display device407, input converter 410, input device 411, a plurality of communicationI/Fs 412 a to 412 c, . . . , and system bus 417.

The CPU 401 controls the overall operation of this host computer. TheRAM 402 is comprised of a programmable memory used for a work area usedin operating the CPU 401. The ROM 403 is comprised of a read-only memorywhich stores various control programs (BIOS: Basic Input/Output System)executed by the CPU 401. The external memory device 404 is comprised ofa memory device such as a hard disk for storing various programs anddata. The real-time clock 405 is comprised of a clock for determiningthe current time and date and counting an arbitrary time interval.

The image generator 406 displays various data on the display device 407on the basis of an instruction from the CPU 401. The input device 411 iscomprised of an input device such as a keyboard for inputting variouscommands to the host computer by the operator. Operation informationfrom the input device 411 is converted into digital data by the inputconverter 410, and the digital data is output to the CPU 410. Theplurality of communication I/Fs 412 a to 412 c, . . . are comprised ofinterfaces communicating with the plurality of terminal game machines111 to 114, . . . The respective communication I/Fs 412 a to 412 c, . .. are connected to the bus line 417, as illustrated in FIG. 4 but canhave arbitrary forms and schemes. For example, an interface (e.g., aUniversal Serial Bus) for connecting external devices in a daizy chainmay be used.

The overview of the operation of the game system shown in FIGS. 1 to 4will be described below. In this case, a driving game is exemplified inwhich parts such as an engine, wheels, chassis, and wing are combined toarrange an automobile (player character), thereby performing a car race.

Each player can tune his own automobile (player character) and canperform a time attack at the home game machine 131 in FIG. 3. The tuningitems range from the running performance for the engine, wheels,chassis, and wing to the outer appearance such as the body color andlogo. The player repeats tuning and time attack to prepare a fasterautomobile at the home game machine 131.

The player can also save the character information of his own automobile(player character) prepared at the home game machine 131 together withhis own player ID information in the memory card 132. The characterinformation includes model information (e.g., shape information andtexture information) constituting the player character and parameterinformation representing the dynamic characteristics of the playercharacter. The parameter information includes information representingwhich parts are selected as parts (e.g., an engine) pertaining to therunning performance, and information representing the body color andlogo. FIG. 9 shows an example of player ID information and characterinformation to be saved in the memory card 132.

The player carries this memory card 132 and goes to the location wherethe terminal game machine shown in FIG. 2 is installed. The player loadsthe memory card 132 in the terminal game machine to read out thecharacter information. The player can play the driving game with his ownautomobile (player character) defined by the character information atthe terminal game machine. Note that the player can play the game withcharacter information prepared by the player on the spot without readingout the character information from the memory card 132.

At the end of the game at the terminal game machine, when the playerattains a certain good result in this game, the terminal game machinestores, in the external memory device 204, character data of the player,player ID information, replay data (e.g., operation information and mapinformation from the start to end of the play of the player) required toplay back the play of the player, image data representing the faceportion of the player sensed by the CCD camera 216, and the game resultdata (e.g. a score and time). In this case, not only the race contents,but also individual information such as the machine color and logo(included in the player character information) is stored. The storeddata is transferred to the host computer 101 via the network. Thistransfer is performed without interfering with the progress of the gamewhen no game is played in the terminal game machine.

The host computer 101 shown in FIG. 4 arranges the data transmitted fromeach terminal game machine and stores it as totalization data in theexternal memory device 404. More specifically, the data are sorted inthe descending order of higher scores or times and stored up to thepredetermined rank as the totalization data. The host computer 101distributes the totalization data to each terminal game machine via thenetwork at predetermined timings. In data distribution, any other datacan be added to the totalization data, and the resultant data can bedistributed.

Upon reception of the distributed data, the terminal game machine shownin FIG. 2 stores the received data in the external memory device 204.The terminal game machine displays the game ranking list on the displaydevice 207 on the basis of the totalization data while no player playsthe game. FIG. 11 shows the display example of the game ranking list.Reference numeral 1101 denotes player ID information for specifying aplayer; and 1102, time information as the result of the time attack ofeach player. Reference numeral 1103 denotes character data transmittedfrom the host computer 101 together with the totalization data as thedata to be displayed in the ranking display window. Note that the faceimage of each player may be displayed in the ranking window.

When a player plays the game at the terminal game machine to which thetotalization data is distributed, data of a predetermined number ofhigher-ranking players (three players in this case) from thetotalization data and plays back the replay data. The replay datarepresents information stored when the players having the correspondingplayer IDs took ranking places. The replay data is necessary informationfor playing back such plays. When the replay data is played back, aplayer can play the game while playing back running of thehigher-ranking players. As a result, any player can play the game as ifhe were playing the racing game with the remote players. Note that thehigher-ranking player data are automatically played back in this case,but an arbitrary player in the displayed ranking places may be selectedto play the game. This selection makes it possible to play the game witha player of equivalent competitive level.

FIG. 10 shows the display window example in which a player plays theracing game while playing back the replay data of the threehigher-ranking players. Reference numeral 1001 denotes a character of aplayer who is currently playing the game; and 1002 to 1004, characters(displayed as opaque characters) played back from the totalization data.The characters 1002 to 1004 are moving in the same manner as in theplays with which the players took the ranking places. The face data ofthe characters are displayed near the playback characters.

The processing sequence of the terminal game machine for realizing theabove operation will be described below.

FIG. 5(a) shows processing at the start of the game at the terminal gamemachine. In step 501, player ID information and character informationare read out from the memory card 132. In step 502, these pieces ofinformation are stored in a predetermined storage area of the RAM 202.In step 503, the image near the face of the player is sensed with theCCD camera 216, and this information is also stored in a predeterminedstorage area of the RAM 202 to complete game start processing. In step501, ID information and character information input by the player on thespot may be used in place of the data read out from the memory card 132.

FIG. 5(b) is a flow chart showing the sequence during the game. Duringthe game, information input by the player from the input device 211 isobtained in step 511. In step 512, the position and posture of his owncharacter (i.e., the character 1001 (FIG. 10) operated by the gameplayer) are calculated. In step 513, process information required forplaying back the position and posture of the character is stored in theexternal memory device 204 as replay data. In step 514, his owncharacter is displayed.

In step 515, the replay data (process information) representing runningof the higher-ranking players are extracted from the totalization datatransmitted from the host computer 101 in advance and stored in thepredetermined storage area of the external memory device 204. In step516, the positions and postures of the respective characters arecalculated from the replay data. In step 517, these competing characters(1002 to 1004 in FIG. 10) are displayed. In step 518, the background andtime information are displayed. In step 519, any other processing (e.g.,judgment at the goal is performed and camera positions are calculated)is performed. The processing is then ended.

During the game, processing in steps 511 to 519 is repeated. When apredetermined game end condition is satisfied, the game is ended. Atthis moment, replay data required for playing back the position andposture of the player as the game result are generated and stored in theexternal memory device 204.

FIG. 6 shows the processing at the end of the game. At the end of thegame, in step 601, the game result is displayed on the display device207. In step 602, the totalization data stored in the external memorydevice 207 is compared with the game result of the player to determinewhether the game result of the player is to be transmitted. For example,if the time of the player falls within the predetermined ranks as aresult of comparison with the totalization data, the CPU determines thatthe game result must be transmitted. When the game result of the playerdoes not fall within the predetermined ranks, the CPU determines thatthe game result need not be transmitted and ends the processing. If thegame result must be transmitted, the CPU informs the host computer instep 603 that the record of the terminal game machine is updated. Instep S604, the CPU waits for the response from the host computer. TheCPU then transmits the player ID information, player characterinformation, replay data, and image data of the face portion of theplayer, and game result to the host computer 101, and the processing isended.

FIG. 7 shows a sequence of the types of data exchanged in time updatingbetween the host computer 101 and the terminal game machine. When aplayer attains a predetermined good result at the terminal game machine,i.e., when he breaks his own record, it is determined in step 701whether the renewed record currently takes a ranking place. Step 701corresponds to step 602 in FIG. 6. If there is no possibility of takinga ranking place, no data is transmitted, and the processing is ended.Otherwise, a record breaking notification (including terminal gamemachine ID information) is transmitted to the host computer 101, asindicated by an arrow 702. The arrow 702 corresponds to processing instep 603 in FIG. 6. Upon reception of this record breaking notification,the host computer 101 prepares for data reception. When the preparationis complete, the host computer 101 issues a download request for gamedata, as indicated by an arrow 703.

In response to this download request, the terminal game machinetransmits the game result data including the renewed time data, playerID information, player character information, replay data, and imagedata of the face portion of the player to the host computer 101, asindicated by an arrow 704. Upon reception of these data, the hostcomputer 101 transmits a game data reception end notification 705 to theterminal game machine, as indicated by an arrow 705. The processing ofthe arrows 703 to 705 corresponds to step 604 in FIG. 6. In step 706,the host computer 101 updates the totalization result from the receiveddata.

FIG. 8 shows sequences in which the totalization data obtained by thehost computer 101 is distributed to the terminal game machine and isreceived by the terminal game machine. FIG. 8(a) is the sequence inwhich the totalization data is distributed when the terminal gamemachine is reset, and FIG. 8(b) is the sequence in which thetotalization data is distributed in response to a request from theterminal game machine.

Assume that the totalization data is updated in the host computer 101 bythe data transmitted from each terminal game machine in FIG. 8(a). Whena terminal game machine of interest is powered on in step 801 (thisoperation is identical to resetting using a reset switch). As indicatedby an arrow 802, this terminal game machine transmits a resetnotification (including terminal game machine ID information) to thehost computer 101. In step 803, the host computer 101 determines whetherthe totalization data is updated from the latest access by the terminalgame machine having the received ID. If NO in step 803, the processingis ended.

If it is determined in step 803 that the totalization data is updated, anotification representing that the totalization data is updated istransmitted to the terminal game machine, as indicated by an arrow 804.In response to this notification, the terminal game machine sends atotalization data download request to the host computer 101, asindicated by an arrow 805. In response to this download request, thehost computer 101 transmits the totalization data to the terminal gamemachine, as indicated by an arrow 806. As indicated by an arrow 807,upon reception of the totalization data, the terminal game machinetransmits the totalization data reception completion notification to thehost computer 101, and the processing is ended.

Referring to FIG. 8(b), when the terminal game machine detects that apredetermined period of time has elapsed after accessing the hostcomputer 101, the terminal game machine automatically issues atotalization data updating inquiry (including the terminal game machineID information), as indicated by an arrow 812. The subsequent processingis identical to the sequence in steps 803 to 807 in FIG. 8(a), and adetailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the drivinggame, but is not limited to this. The present invention is applicable toa game which achieves a game play in which replay data is obtained andplayed back, and at the same time an actual game is played while playingback the replay data.

As has been described above, according to the present invention, replaydata for playing back the process during which a player plays a game isdownloaded via a network, and the player can actually play the gamewhile playing back the replay data. The player can play the game as ifhe were actually playing the game with remote players. No real-time playprocess information is exchanged, but the game result data of the playerand the replay data for playing back the game process can becommunicated at the end of the game, and these data are stored in theterminal game machine. At the time of the game, any player plays thegame while playing back the replay data. The players can enjoy the gamewithout any problems posed by communication delays, difference in time,and communication quality. The data distributed to the terminal gamemachine is stored in the storage means and played back at the time ofthe game. Even if no communication is established, pseudo game playingcan be achieved using the data stored in the storage means. Thecommunications may be performed at low speeds, and the communicationtimings need not fall within the business hours. Therefore, no load isimposed in game execution.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication game system having a plurality ofterminal game machines connected to a network and a host computer,characterized in that each of said plurality of terminal game machinescomprises storage means for obtaining and storing replay data forreplaying a process of a game play in real time progression when aplayer plays the game at a corresponding one of said terminal gamemachines, transmission means for automatically transmitting the replaydata stored in said storage means to said host computer, reception meansfor receiving the replay data automatically transmitted from said hostcomputer, storage means for storing the received replay data, and gameexecution playback means for playing back the received replay datastored in said storage means and executing the game play in real timeprogression, said host computer comprising storage means for storing thereplay data transmitted from each of said plurality of terminal gamemachines and transmission means for transmitting the replay data storedin said storage means to each of said plurality of terminal gamemachines.
 2. A communication game system having a plurality of terminalgame machines connected to a network and a host computer, characterizedin that each of said plurality of terminal game machines comprisesstorage means for obtaining and storing result data and replay data forreplaying a process of a game play in real time progression when eachplayer plays the game at a corresponding one of said terminal gamemachines, transmission means for automatically transmitting the resultdata and replay data stored in said storage means to said host computer,reception means for receiving totalization data automaticallytransmitted from said host computer, storage means for storing thereceived totalization data, and game execution playback means forreading out and playing back the replay data from the receivedtotalization data stored in the said storage means and at the same timeexecuting the game play in real time progression, said host computercomprising totalization means for totalizing the result data transmittedfrom each of said plurality of terminal game machines, and generatingtotalization data containing the result data transmitted, storage meansfor storing the generated totalization data, and transmission means fortransmitting the totalization data stored in said storage means to eachof said plurality of terminal game machines.
 3. A communication gamesystem according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said terminalgame machine has an interface connecting detachable storage means toallow data readout, said game execution playback means of said terminalgame machine reads out player character information serving asinformation associated with a game character and stored in saiddetachable storage means and reflects the readout player characterinformation on the game, and said transmission means of said terminalgame machine makes data transmitted to said host computer contain theplayer character information, and transmits the resultant data.
 4. Acommunication game system according to claim 3, characterized in thatthe player character information stored in said detachable storage meansis created and stored by game machine not connected to said network buthaving an interface connecting said detachable storage means andreading/writing data.
 5. A communication game system according to claim1 or 2, characterized in that said terminal game machine comprises imagesensing means for obtaining image data obtained by sensing an image of agame player who plays the game, said transmission means of said terminalgame machine makes data transmitted to said host computer contain theimage and transmits the resultant data, said transmission means of saidhost computer makes data transmitted to said plurality of terminal gamemachines contain the image data and transmits the resultant data, andsaid game execution playback means of said terminal game machinedisplays the image data corresponding to the replay data in playing backthe replay data.